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My Antonia

Cather’s MY ÁNTONIA
"Optima dies ... prima fugit."My Ántonia, by Willa Cather, is a modernist novel that recounts and celebrates the past through the relationship of man and the natural world. Cather incorporates an epigraph at the start of the novel from Virgil’s Georgics that means “The best days…are the first to flee,” which is integrated by many elements throughout the story as it is the epicenter in which the themes of the novel revolve. For those who aren’t familiar Georgics consists of 4 books and is seen as“…Virgil’s praise of inherent value, despite great hardship of humankind’s labor” (Krstovic, 200). Cather includes pastoral imagery and sprinkles many biographical undertones, such as the setting, throughout to keep the connection to the epigraph at the start of the novel intact. “My Ántonia particularly, with its close relationship to Willa Cather's own life, is an accurate and realistic picture of life on the prairie, but like Virgil's poem it transcends mere local color by emphasizing the eternal beauty of creative life on the rich earth” (Dahl, 45).

For instance, Curtis Dahl states “the first of these inextricably fused themes is Cather's desire to celebrate in her novels her own Nebraskan patria” (45). We see this detail vividly in the way she describes the land and can almost feel the connection she has through the images she portrays in the novel. Take how she describes machinery sitting off in the distance, for example: On some upland farm, a plough had been left standing in the field. The sun was sinking just behind it. Magnified across the distance by the horizontal light, it stood out against the sun, was exactly contained within the circle of the disk; the handles, the tongue, the share¬¬¬¬¬---black against the molten red. There it was, heroic in size, a picture writing on the sun. (Cather, 193-194) We get the symbolic importance of the plough by the portrayal and description she colorfully provides the reader. “She emphasizes the...

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...The Growth of MyAntonia
Nebraska, the Cornhusker state, the state that most people tend to forget, yet ironically is also the setting for one of the most unforgettable love novels in America. Willa Cather writes MyAntonia, setting it in the image of her hometown. In it, she formulates her memories into an extraordinary love story where two people have a bond stronger than love, stronger than that of husband and wife. In doing so, she creates a character that is not only strong but also lovable by all; a character name Antonia. Throughout the course of MyAntonia, Willa Cather develops Antonia Shirmerdas into a character of strength and integrity through her experience as young immigrant, as a hired girl and eventually as a pioneer woman.
As a young girl living in a place far from home, Antonia grows from an innocent young Bohemian into a rough American tomboy. When Jim first meets Antonia, she is still an angelic little girl with an optimistic feel of the world. Jim, at one point, recalls “what the conductor had said about her eyes. They were big and shiny, like the sun shining on brown pools in the wood” (Cather 17). She is always happy looks at things in the most positive way. After her father’s death, however, Antonia and her family are faced with a financial crisis, and Antonia is forced to work to...

...MyÁntonia:
Living forces
Anne Bradstreet once wrote, – “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” Have your emotions been affected by the changing seasons? Have you reacted according to the weather conditions? Sometimes, the surroundings have a stronger effect than what people may think. They affect human beings’ behaviors and actions in such a way that most of what people do and feel goes accordingly to them. This can be overwhelming, so imagine how it was like for pioneers who came to America during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Seasonal circumstances captivated Willa Cather’s imagination and motivated the creation of the master piece MyÁntonia. Almost overnight, pioneers populated the West after a long and strenuous journey overseas. People from Europe came to America and struggled with the unknown seasonal conditions; conditions that shaped the way they lived and experienced life as Cather witnessed it. Willa Cather's MyÁntonia conveys how the symbolic seasons of fall, winter, spring and summer create a variety of forcings throughout the dramatic action which progressively unfolds a character's traits, namely of Antonia, Jim, and Mr. & Mrs. Burden.
During fall, the characters of MyÁntonia experience change and fulfillment. Fall is known...

...﻿MyAntonia:
(Individualism: Its Influence over Lena, Jim and Ántonia During Their Childhood, Adolescence and Adulthood)
“The longest journey is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest for the source of his being”--- Dag Hammarskjold.1 This individualist journey, Hammarskjold refers to, consists of two very important elements which contribute to individualism: (1) having the awareness of personal accountability before the Lord and Savior and (2) having a self-sufficient nature as a fountainhead of a person’s individuality which was required to settle the American frontier. These key ingredients mixed with an untamed land tempered the settlers into what we know them today as Americans which may be observed within Willa Cather’s MyAntonia as the reader follows the lives of three key characters: Lena, Jimmy, and Antonia. Cather herself searched for her own individualism which she juxtaposed in this 1918 literary work with the character Jimmy. Both he and the author of the story were born in Virginia and at an early age were sent to Nebraska to join their grandparents. And much like the author, he had the pleasure of growing up with a variety of immigrants and stories. Such narratives inspired the author throughout her writing career. MyAntonia follows the endeavors of the female protagonist, Antonia,...

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The nameless narrator in the introduction of MyAntonia by Willa Cather states that Ántonia, an immigrant Bohemian girl who comes to America with her family, symbolizes as much as she is in character. To Jim, narrator of the rest of the novel and Ántonia’s childhood friend, Ántonia represents the beauty and freedom of nature. Pretty, lively, and tremendously generous, Ántonia mesmerizes Jim. Jim described her eyes as being “big and warm and full of light, like the sun shining on brown pools in the wood”, her skin as being “brown, too, and in her cheeks she had a glow of rich, dark color”, and her “brown hair was curly and wild- looking” (Cather 47). With her determination and courage, Ántonia overcomes hardships along her journey in America.
Ántonia and her family arrive in Nebraska for a better life. Ántonia’s father, a gentle, intelligent patriarch of the Bohemian immigrant family, was heartbroken about leaving his friends and family in Bohemia. Mrs. Shimerda, Ántonia’s self- centered, nosy, and complaining mother, made her family come to America for a better life and most importantly to give Ambrosch, the Shimerdas’ eldest son, the chance to become a wealthy farmer. Ambrosch was “short and broad-backed, with a close- cropped, flat head, and a wide, flat face. His hazel eyes were little and shrewd, like his mother’s, but more sly and suspicious. . . “(Cather 47). The...

...MyAntonia
by Willa Cather
Author: Willa Sibert Cather, Nebraska's most noted author was born in Virginia. At the age of ten she moved with her family to Webster County, Nebraska. Many of Cather's acquaintances and Red Cloud area scenes can be recognized in her writings.
Cather wrote poetry, short stories, essays and novels, winning many awards. In 1920 she won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel One of Ours, about a Nebraska farm boy who went off to World War I.
Willa Cather's reputation as one of America's finest novelists rests on her novels about Nebraska and the American Southwest. These novels express her deep love of the land and her distaste for the materialism and conformism of modern life.
Devoted to values such as the importance of family and the need for human courage and dignity, she created strong female characters whose sort of strength and determination had previously been attributed to only men.
MyAntonia, one of Cather's best works, is an unconventional, romantic novel of prairie life. It tells the story of a remarkable woman whose strength and passion epitomize the pioneer spirit.
Characters:
Jim Burden - The man narrating the story.
Antonia Shimerda -The daughter of Bohemian immigrants and the heroine of the story.
Ambrosch Shimerda - Antonia's mean brother
Marek Shimerda -Antonia's mentally disabled brother.
Yulka Shimerda - Antonia's younger sister.
Mr....

...Dark Overtones, and Their Contrasts in MyAntonia
In MyAntonia by Willa Cather, there are many dark overtones that pervade the novel. It is through the use of symbolism and contrast these overtones are made real. The prairie is the predominant setting of the novel. It may be shaped, and it conforms to the desires of those working it. The prairie¹s loneliness, shown by the wide open spaces, is a brilliant way of revealing internal conflict by using a setting. Also, it brings out the characters true meaning. Cather shows through the character of Lena Lengard that society¹s next generation would not be as good, or quite as noble as that of Cather¹s childhood. The primary inscription on the first page states that the best days are the first to flee. Cather contrasts these ideas with Antonia¹s personality, which is always bright. This contributes to the dreariness of the novel.
In the novel the prairie is a metaphor for internal conflict. Cather brilliantly demonstrates the prairie as a representation for internal conflict being portrayed by a setting (Kelley, Sean). It symbolizes loneliness and depression. When Jim, one of the main characters, was young, the prairie was uncultivated and there were not as many settlers; it was a lonely place. Being isolated from society with little or no human contact could drive anyone insane. Despair, bad luck, greed, and self-absorbtion make one lose...

...Willa Cather’s My Anthonia, in my opinion was not only easy to read but also a thoroughly enjoyable read. It tells the vivid stories of several immigrant families who move to the rural state of Nebraska to start new lives in America. A Bohemian family, by the name of the Shimerdas, is one of the main focal points of the story. The eldest daughter of the Shimerda family is named Antonia. The book's narrator, Jim Burden, arrives in the town of Black Hawk, Nebraska, on the same train as the Shimerdas. He is going to live with his grandparents after his parents have passed away. Jim develops very strong feelings for Antonia, feelings which border on a filial bond with a hint of sexual attraction. The reader views Antonia's life through that lens. The book itself is divided into five volumes. The volumes are almost paralleled to the stages of Antonia's life, right through her marriage and motherhood. However, the third volume, known as, "Lena Lingard," focuses more on Jim's time at university and his affair with Lena, another childhood friend of his and Antonia's. The five books, that make up MyAntonia are, ‘‘The Shimerdas’’, which is the largest book of all. It covers all of the time that Jim spends on his grandparent’s farm out on the prairie. ‘’The Hired Girls’’, which is the second largest. ‘’The Hired Girls’’ covers Jim's time in town, where he spends time with Anthonia and the other...

...Cather MyAntonia
In the book, MyAntonia, Jim Burden finds himself an orphan leaving his beloved home to a new, stranger place. When he first arrives he observes the country and how different the surroundings are. Throughout the story Jim finally settles in and has a new friend, Antonia. Many things happen and soon we are mourning over the death of Mr. Shimerda. His death was a big event and effected Antonia and her family. Her family was forced to work three times harder to keep themselves alive. As you transition into book two, more conflicts are invited and new symbols.
There are three main types of symbolism that are appealing to the eye. The first quote uses the prairie as a symbol of Jim’s friendship with Antonia during his childhood. It may also symbolize the immigrants and the vast size of the prairie. Which may suggest both the opportunity for a new life and the overwhelming fear that goes with trying to create a new life. The third quote is usually missed as a sign of symbolism. The gravesite is a remnant of the prairie in its purest form, and it symbolizes Antonia’s and Jim’s longing for the past. It is also unwelcoming and “the sky cries as if in sorrow, and the elements in the new land are not friendly, just as they have not been welcoming to Mr. Shimerda” (61). In the final quote the symbol is the plough. It symbolizes man’s “beautiful and harmonious”...